Mirror, Mirror
by StaYgolden3262
Summary: Ino feels herself losing her sanity as numbness overtakes her following Sasuke's abandonment of Konoha. Introspective SasuIno oneshot, much better than the summary; I didn't want it to give anything away :


Sasuke is a reflection of herself, Ino decides. She's staring at the girl in the mirror with tears falling off of silent cheeks but she just doesn't see her and now her eyes are just starting to burn from all the salt. Her hair is hanging limply from a head that can't, _won't_ feel anymore and she crumples to the floor, body shaking as she sobs against the cold wood. Sasuke's face is opposite hers in the smooth portal and she wrenches her eyes closed because it isn't him she should be seeing in the mirror when she's the one who's facing it.

There was a time when the mention of _him_ would send delicious shivers down her spine and butterflies dancing in her stomach. Some time later that feeling stopped, and it probably had something to do with the sharp, aching sense of loss that took over instead. Even later she simply became numb— she couldn't feel Chouji's fingers as they curled around hers at Shikamaru's funeral, begging her to just please, let me in because you're not alone. Her world became shades of gray and the boy she once loved tormented her dreams again and again.

Try as she might, and hell if she wasn't trying, shivering and writhing on the floor as tears pooled around her, she couldn't ever forget that damn cold-hearted bastard. He was as much a part of her as herself; the two were hopelessly ingrained. She remembers when she thought she saw him— it was a mission, and she yanked Chouji's sleeve and shouted for him to look, look, Sasuke had returned, he had came back for her like she knew he would, but Chouji just looked at her with sad eyes and Ino slowly let his sleeve drop again. From then on she never told anybody when she saw him, which was often. He was always there; his dark eyes watching her as she trained, or ate, or slept, carrying on her daily habits as if it was a masquerade. She was an imposter; some stranger wearing the mask of an Ino that once was.

That Ino was long gone, though.

Years passed and she grew cold as her friends grew distant. She felt alone, so alone, because there weren't any more arms to wrap around her, at least not under that pretty tree in the park like Sasuke used to. It started when one day he had finally grown tired of her chasing after him, and had turned to her, exasperated, begging to know _why on earth _she insisted on following him. She had known her answer for a long time, and smiled.

"Because, Sasuke, can't you see? We are the same," she said, eyes meeting his own, and something in that moment must have clicked because he knew she understood and he took her hand in his. Sakura still meant something to Ino back then, so she ignored Sasuke when he asked her to tell her the truth; she knew it would shatter the poor girl when it seemed she might finally blossom. They compromised—when the two teams crossed paths she would acknowledge him with a hug, but only if he would pretend to be annoyed with her affections. Sakura would shriek with disapproval and haughtily order her to get her hooves off Sasuke, already! Shows what little she knew, Ino thought bitterly. Sakura had thought she knew him so well, clinging to him as he left Konoha and grasping even more to the idea that she was the last one to see him. Ino hated allowing Sakura that one concession, hating her fervently because deep down she was jealous. Nobody knew Ino's suffering, the way she bawled and bawled when Sasuke left; that was nothing compared to Sakura's pain, the poor thing offered everything she had to him and he left her behind on the bench— _she_ truly loved him, not that Ino girl.

She sank deeper and deeper into her own depression—her team didn't know what to do with her anymore and her parents stopped trying to break the mood she seemed to always be in. When Shikamaru had died taking the blow for her in a mission was when she truly stopped feeling. Any bonds tying her to earth had been severed; Shikamaru was dead and she had pushed away Chouji and Sakura soon after. Ino didn't see Sasuke in her room or underneath the trees anymore; she saw _his_ face in the mirror instead of her own. Her own heart was now as cold as the icy man she had once given it to; perhaps he had once been able to feel, if their time as a couple was any indication, but she knew they were both numb at this point. She could feel her sanity slipping away from her along with any hope she had of Sasuke returning. She didn't even see herself anymore; she was Sasuke, he had taken over her mind.

Ino turned to face the mirror, staring at the dark eyes that stared back. He was gone, she realized, and he would never come back, not ever for her. Tears slid out again and Ino resolved to fight the darkness that had enveloped her; slowly she pulled herself to her feet. She wouldn't succumb to this, to _him_. She wasn't Sasuke and she never would be; he wouldn't keep his hold over her.

"It's over," she whispered with an angry smile, "I'm ending this once and for all." Her grin became positively maniacal as Ino raised her fist.

She punched his smirking face with all of her fury, her sorrow, her _longing_ for the boy she thought she used to know, and as Sasuke disappeared and the shower of glass rained over her Ino finally felt peace settle in her stormy heart. She could finally feel, and oh, how it hurt as the shards sliced her; they just kept coming, didn't they? But it was over soon like she knew it would be and she couldn't see Sasuke anymore as her vision slowly faded to black.

* * *

**A/N: This is my second fanfiction, and my first SasuIno. I tried a new style, with very little _actual_ dialogue and purposely run-on sentences. I think it fit well with this story, but I really want your opinion. Liked it, loved it, disliked it? I'd also like to hear anything you found particularly interesting, I really do value your opinions. I'm not going to force anybody to review but I would really appreciate it if you did. Thanks for reading! :)**


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